MARYLAND TECHNOLOGY ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE

The Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program announces that it is providing matching grants for 15 technology product development projects in Maryland.

The projects, averaging $90,000 in value, each feature a collaboration between University System of Maryland faculty members and Maryland-based companies. Projects are jointly funded by both MIPS and participating companies. All funding goes to the university research.

Phase 1 (new projects) include:

Salisbury-based Belloso Motor Company and Professor Timmie Topoleski, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County: testing the company’s new motor vehicle engine system, which provides improved fuel economy without sacrificing performance or requiring hybrid technology, to ensure that it preserves acceleration performance while saving on fuel. MIPS/company contributions: $90K/$10K

Linthicum-based Clarity Cyber LLC and Professor Kevin Kornegay, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Morgan State University: prototyping and evaluating VISPR, the company’s secure processor for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which addresses secure code execution issues, mitigating potential ransomware and other attacks. MIPS/company contributions: $90K/$10K

Rockville-based Darbo Auto Wash LLC and Assistant Research Professor Peter May, Department of Environmental Science and Technology, University of Maryland: conducting lab and field verification of the water reclamation treatment system used in the company’s mobile, environmentally sustainable car wash, which treats and reuses its own wastewater. MIPS/company contributions: $90K/$10K

Baltimore-based Dynamhex and Assistant Professor Sunny Sanwar, Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Baltimore: analyzing a blockchain-based transaction model to finance low-carbon projects using the company’s “decarbonization as a service” software platform for utilities, municipalities, and corporations. MIPS/company contributions: $96K/$24K

Westminster-based Dynamic Dimensions Technologies and Professor of the Practice Tsehuai Wu, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County: developing a “digital twin,” a virtual model that seamlessly mirrors a physical entity, of a six-degree-of-freedom robotic arm, which could enable college-level students to simulate the experience of using a real robot. MIPS/company contributions: $90K/$10K

Sherwood-based Ferry Cove Shellfish and Assistant Professor Matthew Gray, Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science: developing and testing a new, man-made substrate for oyster aquaculture that has properties similar to a natural oyster shell, but can be produced cost-effectively, on-demand and at scale. MIPS/company contributions: $90K/$10K

Takoma Park-based Green Logic and Professor Srinivasa Raghavan, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Maryland: developing a sturdy, compostable, on-demand biopolymer bag to capture restaurant food waste and enable it to easily be converted into compost. MIPS/company contributions: $90K/$10K

Baltimore-based JuneBrain Inc. and Professor Osamah J. Saeedi and Associate Professor Lisa Schocket, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore: conducting equivalence and usability studies for the company’s wearable, remote optical coherence tomography (OCT) device, which enables clinicians to monitor ocular and brain disease inside and outside of the clinic, potentially leading to earlier detection and treatment of disease and improved patient care. MIPS/company contributions: $90K/$10K

Beltsville-based Mobile Comfort and Professor Bao Yang, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland: developing multi-user, personal cooling units designed to cool workers in low-occupancy density environments such as factories and warehouses, without the need for central air conditioning systems, consuming as much as 90 percent less energy. MIPS/company contributions: $90K/$10K

Baltimore-based QuikReversal and Professor Srinivasa Raghavan, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Maryland: providing fundamental synthesis research and analysis for the development of a novel opioid-overdose biosensor that can independently deliver naloxone when integrated into a disposable drug-delivery patch. MIPS/company contributions: $90K/$10K

Columbia-based Wiconnect Global Corporation and Professor Mario Dagenais, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland: developing next-generation high-capacity > 1Tb/s fiber optic transceivers on silicon chips for use in data center interconnects that will have more bandwidth, less power dissipation, and a smaller mechanical footprint than existing solutions. MIPS/company contributions: $90K/$10K

Phase 2 (second year) projects include:

Baltimore-based AlgaBT LLC and Associate Professor Yantao Li, Institute of Marine & Environmental Technology, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science: developing a high-density culture technique to produce astaxanthin from microalga through fermentation, in a manner that increases algal nutrient use efficiency and reduces the discharge of nutrient-rich water into the Chesapeake Bay, for use as aquaculture feed and human dietary supplementation. MIPS/company contributions: $90K/$10K

Frederick-based Ductoad Inc. and Professor Mohamad Al-Sheikhly, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland: conducting accelerated age testing for a new, drop-in, Internet of Things (IoT) air-cleaning device encased in the company’s HVAC duct connectors, where, once installed in ducts, the air purifier can be more effective than units in individual rooms. MIPS/company contributions: $90K/$10K

Gaithersburg-based Polaris Genomics and Assistant Professor Daniel Roche, Department of Psychiatry. University of Maryland, Baltimore: clinically validating the company’s patented TruGen-1 blood test as a biomarker for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which could become the first commercial objective test for PTSD. MIPS/company contributions: $90K/$10K

Baltimore-based SVE Technology LLC and Professor Seong Lee, Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, Morgan State University: improving the ease of manufacturing the company’s environmentally friendly, small-scale and high-speed Sleeve Valve Engine (SVE), slated for use in a variety of applications, including unmanned aerial vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, snowmobiles, etc. MIPS/company contributions: $140K/$10K

This is the 70th round of MIPS funding.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) provided funding during this round for the projects with Belloso Motor Company, Dynamhex, Ferry Cove Shellfish, AlgaBT LLC, and SVE Technology LLC.  

Projects are subject to final contract negotiations.

The Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program is an initiative of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) in the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. MIPS leverages the resources of Maryland’s public universities to bolster the state’s economy by bringing faculty and students into collaboration with companies to develop new technology products and processes. MIPS projects expand the horizons of technology and grow Maryland’s economy by generating new technology-based jobs.

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